Upper Orara flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Upper Orara
(Coffs Harbour, NSW) - 110.97 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
110.97 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Upper Orara's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Upper Orara
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Upper Orara at a glance
How Upper Orara is zoned
Buying in Upper Orara? The zoning, flood and bushfire lines on the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract are mapped controls - see our s10.7 certificate guide.
Across its 110.97 km², Upper Orara is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 7% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 12 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 37,663 m² across 432 parcels.
Who lives in Upper Orara
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Upper Orara suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1011, and decile 6 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Upper Orara's 863 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Coramba - Nana Glen - Bucca, the wider ABS statistical area containing Upper Orara. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Upper Orara itself.
3,649 in 2001 to 4,124 in 2025, up 13%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Upper Orara data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Zoning | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 3 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Upper Orara address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 4% of Upper Orara. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Upper Orara lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Upper Orara planning - frequently asked
Is Upper Orara flood-prone?
About 7% of Upper Orara falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 21%.
Is Upper Orara bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Upper Orara is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Coffs Harbour average of 88%.
Is Upper Orara under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 4% of Upper Orara, and over about 20% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,000 ft, with an average of 4,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Upper Orara?
The dominant planning zone in Upper Orara is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Forestry and National Parks and Nature Reserves.
Does Upper Orara have heritage-listed places?
Upper Orara has 12 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Upper Orara?
Across 432 surveyed parcels in Upper Orara, the median lot size is about 37,663 m². There are also 15 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Upper Orara have a train station?
There is no train station inside Upper Orara itself. The suburb is served by 106 bus stops.
What is the population of Upper Orara?
At the 2021 Census Upper Orara had 863 usual residents, with a median age of 45 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Coramba - Nana Glen - Bucca statistical area, which contains Upper Orara, went from 3,649 people in 2001 to 4,124 in 2025, up 13%.
Is Upper Orara an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Upper Orara scores 1011 and sits in decile 7 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Upper Orara?
Median household income in Upper Orara was $1,739 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,550 for the typical suburb in Coffs Harbour. Median rent was $350 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,800 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Boambee Valley | 8.0 km | 30% | 84% |
| Karangi | 8.5 km | 7% | 100% |
| Boambee | 8.5 km | 9% | 95% |
| Coramba | 9.8 km | 11% | 100% |
| Ulong | 10.3 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Boambee East | 10.6 km | 39% | 62% |
| Bonville | 10.9 km | 20% | 98% |
| Brooklana | 11.5 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Toormina | 12.1 km | 29% | 58% |
| Korora | 12.3 km | 0% | 85% |